Method of making patterned cellulosesuperpolymer fabrics by swelling the cellulose



United States Patent() METHOD OF MAKING PATTERNED CELLULOSE- SUPERPOLYMER FABRICS ,BY SWELLING THE CELLULOSE Christian Beuer, Chur, Switzerland No Drawing. Application July 24, 1947, Serial No. 763,450. In Switzerland June 26, 1943 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires June 26, 1963 2 Claims. (CL 8- 114) textile materials and has particular relation to aprocess for obtaining figured effects on textile materials and to the production ofintermediate products adapted to be treated in said process.

It has been known that figured textile sheetmaterials if:

can be produced from intermediate products, some of which have been rendered resistant to swelling, while others are capable of swelling. Such fibres capable of swelling may be vegetable fibres of various origin or cellulose-containing fibres which have been rendered resistant to swelling by treatment with formaldehyde, or esterification of their surface, or by impregnation. with rubber. The use of such fibres in the production of {ihgurgd textile sheet materials has the disadvantage that e ment, which, to some extent, is complicated, and that during the subsequenfimproving treatment, precisely those substances which render the fibres resistant to swelling may be removed by the action of chemicals, or that other chemical or physical effects on the fibres, which are resistant to swelling, take place. In particular, in such processes there is always a weakening of the figure or fancy fibres, and such weakening may have very detrimental etfects.

According to the present invention, these disadvantages may be obviated by using in the production of figured textile sheet materials an intermediate product which, in addition to fibres capable of swelling, contains superpolymer fibres, as the fibre component which, by itself, is resistant to swelling.

As examples of such fibres, first of all superpolyamide fibres (such as those known under the trade name nylon), furthermore, fibres consisting of polyacrylic compounds, polyvinyl compounds, in fact all fibres consistingi of synthetic high polymer materials may be mentione According to the present invention, figured textile sheet materials are obtained by subjecting a mixed fabric, which contains figure or fancy fibres consisting of the above mentioned superpolymers, to an improving treatment. The latter may consist in that the fabric is treated with acids or with alkaline swelling agents, for example mercerized with or without tension, shrunk, or treated with acid of transparentizing concentration. The concentration of the swelling agent used in each case should be adjusted to the desired effect and to the base fibre, i. e. the fibre not resistant to swelling. The action of these improving agents may also take place locally, either by topical application of the swelling agents or by the application of resists, which are resistant to said agents, and also together with topical or selective dyeing. The latter depends on the nature of the figure or fancy fibres and may take place in any phase of the improving process.

For example, depending on the distribution of the superpolymers woven in the fabric as figure or fancy threads and also on the nature of the particular local effect of the swelling agents applied by direct or resist printing, in the combination of shrinking and parchmentizing swelling, etc., a great number of varied, figured crepe-like effects may be obtained. The obtaining of such effects by special weaving methods is either very diflicult and expensive or not possible at all.

bres have'to be subjected to a preliminary treat- 2,699,374 Patented Jan. 11, 1 955 Example 1 A raw cotton fabric containing superpolyamide yarns (nylon yarns) Woven in the fabric in the desired pattern, is subjected to preliminary bleaching, then to shrinking without tension with sodium hydroxide solution of 32 B., neutralizing and rinsing. A crepe fabric is thus obtained, in which a crepe design is prorfiuged by the nylon threads in view of the shrunk ground a ric.

.1 This fabric may be dyed with certain selective dyes, so that, owing to the different affinity of the nylon fibres, either colored and white or color tone effects may be obtained. In the case of colored and white effects, either the figure fibres only may be dyed, while the ground fibres are left white, or only the ground fabric This invention relates to the production of improved may be dyed by means of Sultable dyes whlle the figure threads are treated with white resist or are partly or completely dyed.

. Example 2 A cotton fabric containing nylon fibres is bleached,

then mercerized under tension and subjected to a transparentizing treatment with sulfuric acid. of more than 51 B. or another equivalent transparentizing agent and subjected to an after-mercerization. A transparent fabric is thus obtained, which shows non-transparent effects provided by the superpolymer yarn.

By using the dyeing methods mentioned in Example 1, colored effects may be obtained also in this case.

Example 3 Example 4 A rayon fabric consisting of viscose as a ground, and superpolymer fibres as figure threads, is subjected, after desizing, to a swelling treatment of the type generally known for rayon. For example, such fabric is treated with sulfuric acid of 41-49 B. Depending on the employed concentrations of the swelling agents, shrink effects to stiffening effects will thus result, consisting of a permanently improved ground and superpolymer yarns reserved therein.

By suitable coloring steps, the color effects mentioned in Example 1 may be obtained also in this case.

Example 5 A fabric containing regenerated cellulose as the yarn which is non-resistant to swelling, and superpolymer fibres as swelling-resistant yarn, is treated either at ordinary room temperature or at temperatures up to 60 C. during periods of 11 seconds up to 10 minutes, with a sodium hydroxide solution of 1(l38 B. In this treatment the cellulose fibres, which are non-resistant to swelling, become permanently improved, while the superpolymer fibres are not affected and thus, depending on the type, duration and concentrationlof the treatment, permanent improvement effects resu t.

The present invention is by no means restricted to the above embodiments described by way of example, because, owing to the stability of the superpolymer fibres to the improving reagents, extremely numerous variations of the improving effects are possible, and these treatments, which may be acid or alkaline, may be used alternating with each other. It has to be particularly emphasized that the high stability of these superpolymers permits the application of highly concentrated swelling agents also at elevated temperatures.

In carrying out the present process, as fibres, which are non-resistant to swelling, all cellulosic vegetable fibres may be used, furthermore cellulosecn ainins artificial fibres, including artificial fibres consisting of or comprising suitable cellulose derivatives, by themselves or in the form of mixed spun yarns of artificial fibres. It is to be understood that in the present specification and the appended claims the terms fibres, threads, yarns, fibrous or textile materials or the lik capable of swelling are used to include all the fibrous or textile materials mentioned in this paragraph and materials of similar character so far as the capability of swelling is concerned.

The superpolymer fibres, among which I want to include also polycondensation products, may be present in the intermediate product in the form of endless spun fibres, or in the form of staple fibres, if desired also in the form of mixed fibres, and also as effect fibres with knops, flam, or as pile fibres in a pile fabric. In preparing the fabrics treated according to the present invention, the fibrous materials capable of swelling are worked to fabrics with the swelling-resistant fibrous materials consisting of superpolymers in a substantially mechanical manner.

The term strong swelling agent" as used in the specification and claims means a sodium hydroxide solution of substantially -'38 B. or a sulfuric acid of substantially 41-51 B. The term superpolymerizate" means a superpolymer which may be a superpolyamide (as nylon), a polyvinyl compound or a polyacrylic compound, which is produced by polymerization, and the term excludes natural polymeric products such as cellulose and its derivatives.

It is to be understood that in the present specification and appended claims the terms chemical improving process or improving treatment are used to denote a treatment of the fibrous materials with the above defined swelling agents or improving agents, which, in the treatment of the textile sheet materials according to the present invention, act on the fibrous materials capable of swelling, but substantially do not atfect the superpolymer fibres incorporated in said sheet materials, or afiect the superpolymer fibres to a much lesser degree than the fibrous materials capable of swelling.

What is claimed is:

1. A process for producing a patterned textile fabric which comprises subjecting to a swelling treatment with sodium hydroxide solution of substantially 1038 B. a textile material woven of (1) a fibre which is swollen by such swelling agent and which is selected from the group consisting of natural cellulose fibres and regenerated cellulose fibres and (2) a synthetic superpolymerizate fibre which is not substantially affected by such treatment, and thereafter inactivating said swelling agent.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 in which said synthetic superpolymerizate fibre is selected from the group gtgnsisting of superpolyamide, polyvinyl and polyacrylic res.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited in the file of this patent 

1. A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A PATTERNED TEXTILE FABRIC WHICH COMPRISES SUBJECTING TO A SWELLING TREATMENT WITH SODIUM HYDROXIDE SOLUTION OF SUBSTANTIALLY 10*-38* BE. A TEXTILE MATERIAL WOVEN OF (1) A FIBRE WHICH IS SWOLLEN BY SUCH SWELLING AGENT AND WHICH IS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NATURAL CELLULOSE FIBRES AND REGENERATED CELLULOSE FIBRES AND (2) A SYNTHETIC SUPERPOLYMERIZATE FIBRE WHICH IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY AFFECTED BY SUCH TREATMENT, AND THEREAFTER INACTIVATING SAID SWELLING AGENT. 